The Finding of Moses

According to the Old Testament story (Exodus 2: 5), the infant Moses was hidden by his mother in a reed basket on the River Nile to save him from Pharaoh's order that all male children should be killed. He was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter who took him into her care.

The picture is certainly Neapolitan. The elongated proportions of the figures and the head types are characteristic of De Bellis and are closely related to the works of his Neapolitan contemporary Bernardo Cavallino (see his 'Christ driving the traders from the Temple').